Disclaimer: All credit goes to The Literary Dragon!

It was a crisp, clear day. The leaves turned colors of gold and red, as the days grew chilly. A lone figure emerged from the school building. A rising breeze tugged at her raven locks. She turned up the collar of her jacket, wrapped her arms around herself, and shivered.

"Who turned off the heat," she muttered to the empty air. "I miss summer."

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't hear someone calling her name.

"Dara!" Someone grabbed the sleeve of her jacket. Dara turned at the contact to look into chocolate brown eyes framed by hair as black as her own.

"Bom. When did you get here?" Dara pushed back the hair being whipped into her face by the wind.

Bom laughed. "I've been calling your name for the last five minutes. You look like you're a million miles away." Her expression turned sly. "Thinking about Wooyoung?"

"Get real, Bom," Dara retorted. "Wooyoung and I broke up months ago. That guy has no backbone. It was like dating a jellyfish."

"But a hot-looking jellyfish." Bom looped her arm companionably around her friend's shoulders. "Seriously, Dara, I need to ask you a favor."

Dara eyed Bom warily. It always meant trouble when Bom started acting so chummy. Like the time she insisted Dara would look wicked cool with hot pink hair. The dye didn't come out for months. Still. . . they were best friends.

"Sure, Bom. What do you want?" Dara hoped she wouldn't regret this.

"Mir is sick," Bom began. She smiled at Dara's look of sympathy. "Nothing too serious, but he needs to stay in bed for a day or two."

"Do you need company while you watch him?" Dara asked.

"No, I'll be fine. It's just that I've been trying to earn some extra money. I promised a friend of a friend that I would babysit tonight."

Dara was frantically shaking her head.

"Come on, Dara. It's just for a few hours," Bom pleaded.

"No way, Bom. I'm horrible with kids."

"But you take such good care of your little brother."

"The little brat's just lucky I haven't strangled him yet."

Bom clasped her hands in front of her and put on her pleading face. "Please? I'll owe you a really big one if you do this for me."

Dara wavered, torn by the desperation in Bom's voice. She looked into her friend's hopeful eyes. Her resistance collapsed.

"Okay," she said. "I'll do it. But just this once."

Bom squealed and threw her arms around Dara, squeezing the breath out of her. "Thanks, Dara. You're the best!"

Bom stepped back, suddenly all business. She held out a card to Dara. "Here's the address and phone number. It's only a few blocks from here. You need to be there by 6:30 tonight. The kid should already have eaten. In bed by 8 and you can loaf around and watch TV until time to go home. Probably no later than 11."

She hugged Dara. "Gotta go, Dara," she called over her shoulder as she jogged away. "Call me if you need any advice. Thanks again."

Dara stared after her friend's retreating back. She glanced at the card. "Wait, Bom," she called. "You forgot to tell me the person's name." But Bom was already out of sight.

"Oh, well. I guess I'll find out when I show up tonight."

^**^

Dara studied the writing on her little white card. She looked up at the house in front of her and back to the card.

"I guess this is the place," she said out loud. She shook her head. "I have got to quit talking to myself. People might get ideas."

Dara straightened her shoulders, marched up to the door, and rang the bell at exactly 6:20. The door opened. Dara looked around and didn't see anyone. She glanced down and saw a cute little boy who couldn't be more than three or four. The boy stared at her solemnly with big violet eyes. Dara put on her best kid-friendly smile.

"Hi there, little one," she said. "Is your mommy or daddy home?"

The child continued to stare at her. Dara shifted uncomfortably. She was about to ask again when the door swung open all the way. Standing in the doorway was a very y, muscular, older version of the little boy. Right down to the black hair and violet eyes.

"Who are you?" the man asked bluntly. "What are you doing here?"

Dara took a step back, unprepared for such hostility. "Um, Bom couldn't make it tonight. She asked me to fill in for her."

"So, what's wrong," the man sneered. "She have a hot date."

Dara felt her spine stiffening. Her eyes blazed with anger. "For your information, her little brother is sick. I'm helping out a friend."

"Why can't the kid's parents watch him? I am not leaving my son with someone who obviously doesn't know what she is doing." The man crossed his arms and glared. The little boy peeped out from behind his father's leg.

"Bom's parents are dead. She is the only family Mir has left." Dara resisted the urge to smack him for being such an insensitive jerk. The little boy didn't need to see that kind of violence. "I have a certificate in CPR training and I am qualified to give emergency first aid if needed."

The man backed down grudgingly. "I'm Kwon Jiyong. You will call me Mr. Kwon. This is Hojin. Who are you?"

Dara stuck out her hand, which was ignored. "My name is Sandara Park." She let her hand drop and decided to speak to Hojin instead. She crouched down to be on eye level with him.

"Hi, Hojin. I'm going to be your sitter tonight. We're going to have lots of fun." She ignored a snort from Mr. Kwon. "How old are you?"

Hojin came out from behind his father's leg. He looked at his hand and then held up three fingers. "I'm this many," he said in a clear voice.

"No, Hojin," said Mr. Kwon. Dara was surprised that his voice could sound so gentle. "You just had a birthday, remember?"

Hojin thought and then held up four fingers. "I'm this many, Daddy?" he asked his father.

"That's right. Now, can you remember what number that is?"

Hojin scrunched up his little face. His face cleared and he turned to Dara with a happy smile. Dara's heart melted at the sweetness of it. "I'm four years old," he announced proudly.

Mr. Kwon knelt down in front of his son. Dara jumped up hastily to avoid getting knocked over.

"You be a good boy for Sandara-noona. Daddy has to go to his meeting." He kissed Hojin on the forehead. Sleep tight and I'll see you in the morning."

He straightened and turned to face Dara. "There is a list of numbers by the phone, including my cell phone and beeper. Hojin needs to be in bed no later than 8:00. He can have one snack and one drink of water. He's allergic to peanuts. Read him a bedtime story only from the books in his room. You can watch TV if you keep the sound down and you can have one soda from the fridge. Don't use the phone unless it's an emergency. I don't want you chatting with your little friends instead of watching my son. Have I made myself clear, Miss Park?"

"Crystal clear, Mr. Kwon," Dara said through clenched teeth.

Mr. Kwon kissed Hojin one more time. He brushed past Dara, bumping her hard with his briefcase as he passed. Dara could have sworn she heard him snicker. Dara and Hojin watched him get in his car and drive away. She sighed in relief and felt her tension dissolve. She held out her hand to Hojin. He took it without hesitation.

"Come on, Hojin. Let's have some fun."

---------- There goes the first chapter! Let me know what you think! I know Bom and Mir are not siblings in real life and they're not normally paired together as anything so it may seem absurd to some of you LOL but please just bear with it for the sake of the story? Kekeke :)